Collaboration with Anya Hindmarch for game-changing bag collection

Anya Hindmarch x Zeology

Nera is proud to present an exciting collaboration with British designer Anya Hindmarch and our Zeology Partners Scan-Hide and Richard Hoffmans for Hindmarch’s new collection ‘Return To Nature’.

The Return To Nature tote and bucket bag styles are crafted from Zeology leather – aldehyde free, heavy metal free and chrome free – and can biodegrade naturally back to earth.

“A few years ago I heard Arizona Muse (environmentalist and sustainability specialist) talking about the idea of a leather bag that could be tanned in a way that allowed it to biodegrade and return to the earth at the end of its life. There is no waste in nature, and this and Arizona’s words inspired me to embark on a lengthy project to see if I could make a beautiful bag from responsibly sourced leather, without using any hardware and tanned in a way that meant that it could biodegrade and ultimately return to nature. This is what I set out to do.”
Anya Hindmarch, founder and CEO.

Hindmarch’s choice for leather

Hindmarch and her team have spent the past two years puzzling through every step in the design and production process, questioning industry norms and challenging a few shibboleths along the way. Not least was the decision to craft the bags from animal skins. Hindmarch explains that the more she dug into alternatives, the less convinced she became. “I thought about recycled leather, but in fact when I did my research, I found recycled leather is mixed in with plastic… And vegan leather, which is [usually] plastic, doesn’t decompose.”

From: The Calendar Magazine – read the full article.

“Our mission is to create a socially and environmentally sustainable leather value chain by 2025. We have to do this together, with brands, leather manufacturers and designers. With Zeology we can deliver sustainable leather without compromising on leather quality and performance. This project is the perfect example of a chain broad cooperation to reach that goal. We look forward to many more collaborations.”
Hans van Haarst, CEO Smit & Zoon.